Product Description

In A Very British Gangster, world-renowned, award-winning BBC journalist Donal MacIntyre dives into Manchester's underworld, revealing Britain's most notorious and powerful crime family--the Noonan dynasty. With surprising chivalry, Dominic Noonan answers to his poverty-stricken streets while lurking from trial to trial, dodging arrest on a slew of serious criminal charges. Dominic's 10-year-old son, Bugsy, wants none of the prestige his father holds, and his candid confessions of boxing dreams--hopeful words from the child of a very violent man--are heart-wrenching. DVD Features: Deleted Scenes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41116 in DVD
• Brand: PLATINUM DISC LLC
• Released on: 2008-10-07
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 97 minutes

Review
"A gangster movie as compelling--and infinitely more chilling--than Pacino or De Niro" --Screen International

Review
"Dominic Noonan is fascinating..." "Remarkably Intimate..." --Variety

Review
"...a dangerous film about dangerous people. It's a raw world of hit men, gangland fixers and young innocents living lives foretold." --Filmmaker Magazine

Customer Reviews

A Very Sterling Film
Despite being an American, I'm very interested in England and am a bit of an Anglophile so I generally gravitate towards the country's films. A Very British Gangster was an exceptional documentary that revealed the full complexity of a man whose life seems to have already been decided. We discover at the end of it that he is going back to jail but his attitude and everything about his character suggest that his final destination is a foregone conclusion. The police follow him everywhere and it's quite likely that the filmmaker was not the only individual who recorded many of these conversations. What we find most is that Dominic Noonan is, in many ways, a normal man with a variety of relationships and concerns that must be negotiated. Most of his criminality is merely hinted at here, but it seems very unlikely that--even if he is re-released--he will conjure up the will to change his life. This is an endearing and well-crafted portrait of a doomed man.

A unique inside look
There's a real disconnect here between the violent lives led by the gangsters in this documentary and their seemingly benign personalities as depicted in the film. It's difficult to believe that the head gangster is as vicious as he is portrayed. Also, why would he allow a film crew in to see all that he does? There are seeming confessions to certain types of lawless bahaviour, so this was reckless of the gangsters involved. Still, you'll get a real look at the tawdry side of British criminal life. The characters all seem to be nearly subhuman in their criminality. A great piece of work.

A very interesting documentary
Though I'm not much for documentaries, a friend recommended this flick so I gave it a shot and enjoyed it immensely. A very human face is painted on an otherwise historically vicious neighborhood gangster such that you almost feel sorry for him .. but not quite. If you're the type of person who likes the concept of people who live in a neighborhood looking out for the neighborhood, you'll enjoy this documentary.